Badgers Split Weekend With Sweep of Penn and Close Loss in Tennessee

Wisconsin men's tennis finished its weekend slate with a split decision, securing a decisive home victory before falling in a close contest in Tennessee. The Badgers improved their season record to 6-6 overall and stand 0-1 in the Big Ten Conference. They remain without a road win this season after dropping the final match at Middle Tennessee State.

The season began with a series of mixed results that set the stage for the weekend's play. The team had not defeated Pennsylvania in program history prior to Friday, having lost the previous year's matchup 4-3. This history was erased in Murfreesboro, where Wisconsin traveled to face a Middle Tennessee State squad that had not lost at home this season and had shut out five opponents.

On Friday afternoon at Nielsen Tennis Center, the Badgers dominated the Quakers. Senior Josef Dodridge and junior Osgar O'Hoisin secured the doubles point with a 6-1 victory, maintaining their undefeated record as a duo. Sophomores Daniel Soyfer and Chase Colton added a 6-2 win to build the lead.

Wisconsin won every remaining singles match against Pennsylvania. Colton, Soyfer, and Dodridge all won in straight sets. Freshman Jesper Freimuth won 6-2 and 6-3, while O'Hoisin required three sets to close out the 6-1 sweep with a 7-5, 4-6, 10-2 victory.

The dynamic shifted in Murfreesboro. Wisconsin took the initial doubles point when O'Hoisin and Dodridge beat Chris Edge and Tom Moonen 6-4, followed by a 6-2 win by Chema Carranza and Freimuth. Soyfer then won his singles match 6-4 and 6-3 to extend his personal singles record to 10-0 for the season.

Middle Tennessee State responded by winning the next three singles matches to take a 3-2 lead. Dodridge tied the match at 3-3 with a 7-6 and 6-1 victory, setting the deciding point for Carranza against Tom Moonen. Carranza lost the first set in a tiebreak before winning the second 6-1. In the final set, Carranza led 5-4 but Moonen won the final three points to take the set 7-5 and the match for the Blue Raiders.

Head coach Danny Westerman acknowledged the difficulty of the loss while emphasizing the team's development. "This one stings. We need to keep working. We put ourselves in these situations so we can eventually get over the hump," he told UWBadgers.com. The team returns to Nielsen Tennis Center next weekend for a Sunday doubleheader against Cornell and UW-Green Bay.